ViraScoop
As pets get older their needs, wants and requirements change. They need softer food, they need more toilet breaks and they need easy access to your home, ensuring that they can go out when they need the toilet, which is beneficial as it means less cleaning up for you. As well as toilet issues and food issues you also must think about the lifestyle you lead, and the lifestyle that those within your home lead. Things may need to be slow down and everyone may need to chip in more with the care of your older pet.
Visitors And Others Within Your Home
Older pets, especially dogs can be wary about who comes into their home and why. Some older dogs can snap, especially if they are losing their hearing or sight as part of the aging process. To ensure that this does not happen to you and your visitors you need to ensure that your home is your pet’s safe place. You also need to ensure that visitors know how to treat, touch or stroke your pet. If possible, when having new people in your home it might be better to separate them from where your dog is, just to ensure that your pet does not get stressed out by the new visitors.
Making Your Home Accessible
As dogs and cats get older more things can start to go wrong and as a result their ability to walk and enter your home freely and quickly may be compromised. With older pets you need to make allowances and you need to get automatic doors for disabled access installed. Automatic doors make both the inside and outside accessible at any time meaning your pets can come in and go out as they please, without the need to wake you up at all different hours in the night.
Change In Diet And Energy
Naturally as any pet gets older their dietary intake and requirements will change and so too will their energy levels. It can be hard to see a dog or cat who was previously full of energy turn into a sleeping bundle of fur, but it is what happens and you must learn to except this. Older pets require more sleep and relaxation to recuperate and to have sufficient energy for the day ahead so ensure that they have a nice quiet spot to sleep and rest. In addition to sleeping and resting more you will notice a change in their food and dietary requirements. In addition to a lack of appetite you may find yourself having to mush up and break up pet food, even those wet trays and pouches to ensure that they eat the amount of food they require daily.
Behavior Changes And Potential Issues
Like humans, pets can have down days and they can have mood swings. So, it is important that you respect your pet, and you learn to respect their moods and behaviors. As pets get older, they can often become less tolerant of youngsters, including the human and animal kind, and they can often be less accepting of visitors in your home, so ensure that you introduce older pets to new people slowly and carefully. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
